Detailed Observation

Detailed Observation

1. Which drawing media did you find most effective to use, for which effects?

For the drawing of a piece of driftwood (getting tone and depth in detail) I found the versatility of soft pencils from 2b to 6b were very suitable for both building up soft areas of shadow, yet with some noticeable hatching and for underneath quite detailed areas. Also a sharpened pencil on the point was just the thing for producing very thin wavy and broken lines.

Detailed observation - driftwood

 I enjoyed the wispiness and energy of the line produced by the ballpoint pen - used for the shell drawing (stipples and dots). It lends itself well to a tentative delicate line or mark and the building up of tonal depth in areas of shadow, with a sketchy mesh like structure – marks interweaving and crossing over on another. In these areas the marks were quite short quick frenzied flecks and scribbles formed by a flick of the wrist. Depending on the pressure applied and how the pen was held, I found it was relatively easy to create various weights of line, from faint and delicate to quite dark and bold.

 2. Did you enjoy capturing details or are you more at home creating big broad brush sketches?

I generally prefer the freedom of doing larger less detailed sketches, although I have to battle with an enduring nervousness about using broad brush effects if it’s work to be critiqued or put on display. In the past (and often still do) I had a tendency to become bogged down when trying to include a lot of detail, resulting in a sense of frustration and irritation. Unsurprisingly perhaps, in recent years this has resulted in my increasing attraction to more free and expressive work by other artists. Surprisingly though, I did enjoy doing these exercises. I think this was because the object was to concentrate on detail and create interesting texture in only one object rather than the whole composition.

Above are some notes and sample marks which might work well to create tone, pattern and texture and ways I could improve the composition of each drawing.

Stipples and Dots - shell in ballpoint pen

5. Did doing a line drawing get you look at space more effectively?

Because the spaces in the drawing (sliced cabbage) were devoid of detail I think they became much more apparent and larger than a drawing containing tonal shading, greatly emphasizing the contrast between open plain areas and patterned areas. Because of this the effect is more 2 dimensional and less solid. As there are no directional shadows within or around the object, it could almost be a flat cut out shape floating in space, apart from the fact that, it is safe to assume I think, it is in front of the white background of the paper surface.

Line drawing - cabbage section